Truth of the Matter
by Lifeguard
Summary: When the FBI is called to Vegas, Grissom develops a connection with a special agent, which leads to them both re-evaluating and changing their own lives. Please READ and REVIEW! Chapter 4 is up, 5 is being uploaded. Let me know if I should continue!
1. Chapter One

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Title: _Truth of the Matter_

Author: _Lifeguard_

Disclaimer: _I own neither CSI or The X-files, or characters from either shows._

Archive: _Sure, just e-mail me and tell me where_

Spoilers: _"Play with Fire", random episodes of XF_

Rating: _PG so far_

Summary: _When the FBI is called to Vegas, Grissom develops a connection with a special agent, which leads to them both re-evaluating and changing their own lives._

Author's Note: _This is the long awaited CSI/XF crossover. I plan to write two versions of this story, one from a CSI perspective, the other from an XF perspective. Both will be posted in their respective show categories. Please read and review and tell me what you think. _This is the CSI version. (Truth in the Matter is the XF version)

Thin beams of light penetrated the darkness of the woods as a helicopter swooped over head. Search dogs tried in vain to pick up any scents that might lead the rescuers to their victim. Gil Grissom stood in the middle of the controlled chaos surveying the scene.

His team was pulling a double shift again, searching for the third victim in a string of disappearances.

The disappearances had started with a middle aged woman, who went missing from a park two days ago. Then the next night, another woman of the same age disappeared from the park, as well. The teams had scoured the area for any evidence as to where the women went, but there was none. There seemed to be no evidence at all, no signs of a struggle or abductor. There was no connection except age that the women shared. On the third day, the first woman had turned up dead in the desert, bruised and with markings on her body that not even Grissom had seen before. It was now the next night, and the third woman had vanished from the same park, but a different area.

What frustrated Grissom and his team was not only the lack of evidence but the stated accounts of what people had seen that was now being slandered in the papers. A few people that had been in the park the same night were said to have seen a bright light in the sky, blinding according to them, at the supposed times of the disappearances. The tabloids were now having a field day, with the so called witnesses claiming alien abduction. Grissom couldn't leave the crime scene without reporters shoving microphones in his face, asking if it was true or not. As a scientist, he had denied any extraterrestrial involvement and was desperately trying to think up other explanations for the case. Grissom wanted nothing more than some real evidence to go on, and at the moment he wanted another look at the first woman's body they had found.

"We have picked this area clean, there is nothing here" a tired Catherine said, forcing Grissom back to reality.

"There has to be something we have overlooked, some small piece of evidence to speak to us. I am going to see if Al has anything new from the body. Go over the scene one more time, then come back to the lab."

Catherine was about to protest that they had been through the park numerous times, when she realized that Grissom was in no mood to be negotiated with. She sighed audibly and walked away, joining Warrick who was close by.

"He wants one more once over" she told Warrick.

"You've got to be kidding me! What more does he expect us to find here?"  
"I don't know. I am beginning to think this alien conspiracy theory might have some truth to it though if we still don't find something" she replied, scanning the ground with her flashlight.

Grissom pushed open the doors of the autopsy bay, where Al was taking a second look at the first victim.

"Find anything new?" Grissom asked hopefully.

"No, I told you I would page you if I did."

Grissom scanned the body. The markings were tattooed on the woman's body, across her arms, legs and stomach. He had searched in all his books and on the internet for what they meant, but had come up with nothing. Trace was still trying to identify the ink. The cause of death had been determined as severe blunt force trauma to the head, which was marked by a nasty cut and swelling at her forehead.

"Have we identified her yet?" Al questioned.

"Missing person's gave us a match today. Her name is Joan Adams. She was divorced, no children. When she didn't show up for work, her boss called her house and no one was home. Her neighbours reported her missing when she didn't answer the door or phone. We found her car in the driveway, house intact, no break and enter. This case is making no sense. All we have is her, the markings, and a crime scene with no evidence."

"It's frustrating you Gil."

"Of course it is. We need to find out who is doing this before another woman goes missing."

"Don't believe in aliens then?"

Grissom gave Al a look and changed the topic.

"Did you find out what caused the head injury?"

"Well the wound would suggest that it was a rounded object, possibly a baseball bat, metal because there was no traces of wood. I'm sure you'll find something to break this case open soon."

Grissom was about to respond when his cell phone rang out.

"Hello? Ok, that's great. I'll be right there."

Grissom looked up at Al with a grin on his face.

"They found the second victim about a mile from where we found Ms. Adams. This could be our break."

Nick snapped pictures of the victim lying in the sand. She looked just like the first one had; blunt force trauma to the head, bruising, and the tattooed markings.

"Whoever did this is one sick psychopath" he commented to Sara who was collecting samples.

"A sick smart psychopath, which scares me even more, because we've hardly got anything to go on."

"Well we've got to let the evidence and body talk to us, so let's see what she has to say."

"You sound like Grissom."  
"Is that a bad thing?" asked the real Grissom approaching his two co-workers.

Sara looked up sheepishly at her supervisor, and reported their findings to him.

"Ok, let's get her to Al and everything else to the lab" Grissom responded.

It turned out that whatever headway the team wanted to make on the case was not going to happen, as the coroner found nothing different on the new body from what he had found on the previous one. Everyone was busy analyzing every bit of the new crime scene, trying to discover anything to lead them in any direction.

Grissom sat in his office, frustrated, and developing a migraine when Brass popped his head in.

"You don't look so good Gil" he said.

"You try cracking a case with no evidence and no time to sleep."

"Then you're going to hate what I have to tell you."

"What is it?"

"The feds are getting involved with the investigation. They should be here soon."

Grissom swallowed to migraine pills in response. He hated sharing control of his case with the FBI. He knew they had their own agenda of what they wanted to do, and they didn't think about things the way him and his team did.

"How long do I have before they take over?"

"About half an hour. It's going to be two agents from Washington working the case with us."

"Only two? Well that's better than I thought. They're not sending a whole group to take over then?"

"I haven't heard all the details, but apparently these two specialize in some area that they think they can help us in."

"We'll see about that" Grissom answered.

Almost exactly half an hour later, Grissom's desk phone rang.

"Yes, send them in" he said, not anticipating meeting the feds.

He watched the hallway and noticed as a man and a woman came towards his office. The man knocked on the door and introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Agent Mulder with the FBI, this is my partner Agent Scully. Are you Gil Grissom?"

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	2. Chapter Two

Gil Grissom observed the two agents in the doorway, reading their expressions. The tall man who had spoken smiled at him, he seemed professional, yet approachable. The short red head on the other hand seemed reserved and possibly mad about something. Her body language of crossed arms, and a neutral expression suggested that she didn't want to be in his office.

"Yes I'm Gil Grissom" he finally answered.

"We've been sent to help you out on the abduction case your currently working on" Mulder continued.

"It's not an abduction case Agent Mulder, it's a disappearance, and I can assure you that my team and I are perfectly fine working this alone."

"Not an abduction case? I've read the case file, and the markings on the body would suggest otherwise."

"I am saying that the case is that of disappearances connected to a possible serial killer. The markings are as of now, the killer's MO. I don't know what type of abduction you are referring to. What exactly do you specialize in Agent Mulder?"

"The paranormal. The markings on your victims bodies are ones similar to those we've seen on previous cases."

Grissom was temporarily stunned. He gaped at the man trying to comprehend what he had just heard. There was a division of the FBI dedicated to the paranormal? These agents thought his case actually had something to do with aliens? He wasn't exactly sure how to respond to this situation.

"The paranormal?" Grissom repeated, still flabbergasted by what he had heard. He noticed then how uncomfortable the female agent looked. She seemed almost embarrassed by her partner. However, her partner didn't even flinch, and continued on with an explanation.

"My partner and I work with cases that are deemed unexplainable, and we classify them as X-files. We've been doing this for about six years now. You'd be surprised how many cases we actually get."

Grissom still couldn't believe his ears. When he had recovered his voice he responded,

"Agent Mulder, I can assure you there is nothing supernatural about this case. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't think we'll be needing your help."

"I'm sorry you don't think you need us, but if you don't mind, as we do have permission to be here, my partner and I will still be taking a look at this case."

Grissom didn't like this at all. He stood up and was about to ask the agents for their supervisors number, when the red head finally spoke up.

"Mr. Grissom, we're sorry to drop in on you unexpectedly and I assure you we're not here to take over. All we want is to help develop some insight into this case before someone else goes missing. We will try to stay out of the way of your team, and if we don't find anything that we can help you with in the next twenty four hours, I can guarantee you that we will leave."

Grissom listened to her and her terms, and decided that if they were only here for a short time, he could deal with them. Something about Agent Scully reassured him that she would keep her part of the deal, and that he should talk to her, not her partner.

"Alright" he answered, already regretting his decision.

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Like it? Love it? Hate it? Please let me know. Feedback is really nice to get, its motivating. More coming soon!


	3. Chapter Three

"Thank you Mr. Grissom" she replied.

"So what exactly do you plan to do here?" Grissom asked.

"Take a look at the abduction points, drop sites, and Scully will probably take a look at the bodies" Mulder responded.

Grissom nodded and replied,

"You have your twenty four hours, so if you don't mind, I need to continue my work on this case."

Grissom went back to studying his case files, and the agents took the hint and left the office. When they had left he sighed, leaning back in his chair. This wasn't going to be easy. What was the lab going to think when they heard about this? He got up and walked down the hall. In the break room, the team was sitting together, bouncing around ideas for the case.

"Hey boss" Greg greeted him, obviously on break from the lab.

"Grissom is it true that the feds are getting involved with this case?" Sara asked.

Gil nodded.

"Griss, I heard a rumour from Brass, that these agents specialize in the paranormal. What's that all about?" Warrick asked.

"The paranormal? You mean aliens? Are they going to investigate that?" Greg questioned excitedly.

"Not exactly Greg. They're here for twenty four hours to compare some of their cases to this one. They have had at least one with similar markings to ours. The cases they deal with are unexplained" Grissom tried to explain.

"You're kidding right? And you're letting them work this case?" Sara said.

"I really don't have a choice" Grissom replied.

Sara shook her head and turned back to her case file.

"So they're going to be around here looking at what we've got right?" Catherine asked.

"Yes, and even though what they are investigating may seem odd, I expect that you all will treat them with respect as investigators. Is that clear?" Grissom stated.

The team nodded. They talked for a bit, trying to piece together the case, and eventually broke off to look at separate areas and new ideas.

Nick and Sara sat in the evidence room, with the little evidence from the case spread in front of them, when someone entered the room.

"I'm Agent Mulder with the FBI" he said, flashing his badge.

"Grissom warned us that the feds were coming" Sara muttered, not wanting anything to do with what this man had to offer. She didn't want this case and the lab to be degraded any more than it had been already with the talk of the paranormal.

"I'm Nick Stokes, this is Sara Sidle."

Nick introduced himself, figuring he would give the agent the benefit of the doubt, as any insight into the case would be a help.

"Is this the evidence for the disappearance case?" Mulder asked.

Nick nodded.

"Mind if I take a look?"

"Go right ahead, you have the authority" Sara said, almost bitterly. Nick shot her a look. He wondered why she was being so hostile towards Agent Mulder.

Mulder took in the evidence laid out on the table. There were pictures of the women and the markings, with pictures of their head injuries as well. There were photos of the crime scenes and drop sites, and samples of the clothing the women had worn. Mulder pulled out his folder and took out photos of markings from some of his previous cases.

"What are those?" Nick asked.

"Cases my partner and I have worked on that share similar markings on bodies to your case."

Mulder handed Nick the photos, and the men compared them.

"Agent Mulder, Grissom told me that you work with cases that deal with the paranormal? Is that correct?" Sara asked, breaking the silence. She still couldn't believe that Grissom had even fathomed the idea of letting this agent and his partner work this case. As a scientist she had thought he would have known better, and as the supervisor of the top lab in the country, thought about the situation some more before allowing it. She wondered why he didn't fight letting the agents come.

"Yes it is."

"So you think this case has something to do with the paranormal then?" retorted Sara.

"It may. The markings on the body suggest it does, but it has yet to be determined."

"You're serious?" she said, thinking this man was insane.

Mulder nodded, as Nick smiled.

"Well Sara, didn't you try to prove a spontaneous human combustion case awhile back?" Nick teased.

Sara shot Nick a look of death, but Mulder didn't seem to notice, instead he replied,

"Really? Did you prove it?"

Sara glared back at Nick. She was going to kill him later for that comment. She thought everyone had forgotten about her theory. Really she had only wanted to prove something scientifically, that everyone thought couldn't be proven.

"No, it was just a theory. It was disproved" she said coldly.

"That's to bad."

"Well based on your cases, do any relate to this one?" Nick asked, turning his attention away from Sara.

"Possibly. I want to see what my partner finds on the body then discuss our findings, and then we'll see."

"How long have you and your partner been working on stuff like this?" questioned Nick, who was somewhat interested.

Sara watched as the two men talked and realized in disgust that Nick was actually entertaining the ideas this agent was presenting. Sara had had enough. She got up and left the room.

"She ok?" Mulder asked.

"Just stubborn" Nick replied.

Sara pushed open the door to Grissom's office. He looked up as she entered the room.

"Can I help you?" he asked her.

"I just met Agent Mulder. He's in the evidence room."

"And…" Grissom said as he looked over his glasses at her.

"This is ridiculous Grissom! Aliens? The paranormal? You can't be serious about having these agents here."

"Sara, as I said before, I really have no choice when it comes to the FBI. If they want in on a case, I have to let them."

"Do you want them here?"

"No, not particularly. But if they do happen to bring new insight into this case, then their help is appreciated."

"What insight are they going to bring? Grissom, everyone is going to mock us for this!"

"We've been mocked before. I think we can handle this" Grissom replied calmly.

"Seriously, who dedicates their work to studying the paranormal? Does this guy have no life?"

"'Judge not lest ye be judged'" Grissom simply replied.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well you do spend a lot of time here Sara, work does seem to be your life."

Sara scoffed at him.

"I do happen to remember you mentioning for me to get a life, then as I remember I did try and get one, only to have you calling me in on my days off. Then, well, let's not even get into how I tried to get you involved in my life, but that didn't work. And what do you do Grissom? It seems that you too spend a lot of time here, or with your bugs."

Grissom took off his glasses and stared at Sara.

"I don't think this is the time nor place to be discussing this."

"It's never the right time or place to discuss _this. _In fact, I think you still don't know what to do about it. You're going to be one lonely man with only his bugs and no life if you don't change you know."

With that, Sara walked out of the office, nearly colliding with Agent Scully who was waiting in the hall. Sara brushed passed her without a word.

Grissom sat in his office, still shocked at Sara's words. It was true, he had never quite figured out how to act upon _this_. He had been debating in his mind ever since she had asked him out how to deal with it. He cared for her, but his position at work didn't allow him to act on his feelings. Yet there was part of him that wanted to throw caution to the wind and have a relationship with the woman he loved. He didn't know what to do now anymore than when she had first confronted him. His thoughts were interrupted by a quiet knock on his door.

"Come in" he muttered.

He looked up as the door opened and was surprised to see the red headed FBI agent standing in his office.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Mr. Grissom, I'm sorry to bother you but I have some autopsy results that I would like to share with you. Is this a good time?" she asked hesitantly.

"It's fine. I'm sorry, what was your name again?"

"Dana Scully"

"So what did you find?"

Scully opened up her files and handed Grissom some papers.

"Dr. Robbins and I reviewed the tox screens for both victims and both came back positive for a date rape drug that wasn't picked up the first time."

Grissom put on his glasses and reviewed the papers he had been handed. His eyes widened as he read, and realized this could be their break in the case.

"Did you send this to trace?" he questioned.

Scully nodded.

"I want to find out where this is made, or where you can find out how to make it, and then maybe that will lead to who did this. Did you share this information with your partner yet Agent Scully?"

"No, my partner is around here somewhere. I would think he is still trying to prove that this case is paranormal."

"You don't share the same view as your partner then?"

"Agent Mulder can be a bit eccentric at times about his work. This is one of those cases. I honestly don't think this case has anything to do with our line of work, but he dragged me here to look anyways" Scully sighed.

"Have you told him your views on the case yet?"

"Yes, but we were half way here before I realized what we were doing. He knows what I think now."

"So your at odds with him?"

Scully nodded again.

Grissom couldn't help but think of his situation with Sara. She was mad at him, and Agent Scully was mad at her partner. It was almost an ironic situation.

"It's not like we haven't argued about cases before. We'll get over it" Scully explained.

"Well I hope you do. I am going to go to the lab and see what they have to say about this drug" Grissom replied, getting up.

"Ok, I am going to go find my partner then. See if I can convince him that this is a normal case" Scully joked, as she too got up.

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Ok, so I know this story has been horribly neglected but school is murder. Finally have some time to work on it, only to develop some serious writers block. My muse comes and goes. I think I have an idea of where I want to go with this story, so hopefully more will be posted soon. Please read and review, I really appreciate feedback!


	4. Chapter Four

Grissom rushed to Greg in the lab, handed him the results, giving him strict instructions to prioritize them. Then Grissom headed out to find the rest of the team. He headed towards the evidence room, figuring someone had to be in there. He stopped short of the door when he saw the two FBI agents inside.

"Scully, as far as I am concerned, we are not finished investigating all avenues of the evidence from this case. You can go if you want but I am going to complete my investigation here."

Grissom observed Agent Mulder talking down to his partner, and then Agent Scully glaring back at him. He knew that look, Sara had given it to him today. He wondered if he should be listening in on this conversation.

"What evidence Mulder? Loose theories that can't be proven? Are you questioning my analysis of this case or my judgement skills?"

"I'm just asking you to support me here."

"I've supported you many times Mulder, but this time I am sticking with my decision. If you don't like that, then you can continue on your own. I had just hoped that you would respect my opinion for once before jumping into something like this," she hissed at him.

"Fine, then leave if you want" he said coldly.

"Goodbye Mulder," she icily replied before stalking out of the room.

Grissom quickly turned down the hall, giving Agent Scully room to leave without her seeing him. She seemed really mad at her partner, and he watched as she leaned against a wall and sighed. He saw her close her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were shiny with unshed tears. He realized that what her partner had said to her had probably hurt her. She swiped at her eyes, and he decided to try to talk with her.

"Are you alright?"

Grissom approached her slowly, giving her time to regain her composure. She nodded.

"Did you find your partner?" he asked gently.

"Yes, we talked," she finally replied.

"Are you going to be staying?"

"I'm not sure at this moment. I don't think we should, but Agent Mulder still wants to. I think I am going to go back to the hotel for awhile, maybe read over the case, see if there's anything else in there to change his mind."

Grissom met her line of vision, looking into her blue eyes. He knew she was presenting him with a tough persona, but he knew she was hiding what she was really feeling.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked again.

"I'm fine."

He thought that her response felt practiced, that she was not fine, but again pretending. Grissom knew the feeling, of hiding emotions. The days events with Sara flashed through his mind. He wondered if Agent Scully needed to get away from everything as much as he did. So he asked that question.

"Well, if you want, I have a bit of a break right now. Would you like to go somewhere and we could review the case together? Coffee? Maybe we could figure this out together."

He waited patiently as she seemed to consider this.

"Alright," she answered.

"Come on, I'll drive," Grissom smiled, leading her down the hall.

The drive to the coffee shop was quiet, neither really speaking to each other, unsure of where to begin. Grissom focused on driving, but every now and then stole a glance at the woman in the passenger seat gazing out the window.

She's beautiful, he thought, taking in her red hair and pale skin. But what stood out the most to him were her eyes; a shade of blue that now and then looked green, and the only part of her that gave away her true thoughts and feelings. He had seen her express a lot of emotions in those eyes earlier. Annoyance and anger, that had made them flash with a fury he didn't want to incur, and then a pain, one that he could only attribute to her partner's words. He wondered if he had ever caused Sara's eyes to reflect what he had seen in Agent Scully's. Grissom knew he probably had, because Sara had feelings for him, and he realized that the same pain was in Dana Scully's eyes; pain caused by the one she cared for. The problem was, he was scared; scared of falling in love.

**_What do you think? My muse came back with a passion tonight, so hopefully it won't be long till I post some more. Please leave me some feedback, I really love to get reviews! Byes for now! L_**


	5. Chapter Five

Grissom pulled the truck into a parking lot and both headed into the coffee shop. Selecting a booth in the corner, they sat down, and Grissom laid the case files on the table. A waitress came to take their orders and then left, leaving the two again in silence.

Grissom watched Scully read over some of the files, and he pretended to be engrossed by another he had already read at least a dozen times. In reality he had no interest in discussing the case at the moment, rather he wanted to take a break. Maybe if he pushed the case from his mind, he could come back to it with fresh eyes and new ideas.

Putting down his folder, he glanced at the agent, and cleared his throat. She looked up at him, and he decided to opt for small talk.

"So both you and your partner are from D.C.?" he asked, not sure where else to start.

She nodded.

"How long have you been partners?"

"Sometimes I think its been too long, but it's coming up to six years."

It was Grissom's turn to nod, not knowing whether to push the topic of her partner any further.

"How long have you been in Vegas?" she asked.

"Just over fifteen years."

"Have you always been a CSI?"

"I was a coroner for some time, my specialty is entomology, but I have been a CSI for most of the time. Have you always been an FBI agent?"

"No, I started out in medical school, then I decided that I wanted to pursue something different."

She stopped as the waitress approached the table with their order. Again silence settled over the table while Grissom and Scully ate, and sipped at their coffee. Now and then one of them would make a comment about the case, then continue eating, but both seemed to be lost in their own thoughts still.

Grissom kept thinking about Sara, and their discussion earlier, while images of Agent Scully nearly crying in the hall popped into his mind. He wondered how two people who had worked together for so long could still be insensitive to each other. It was ironic how his relationship with Sara seemed to be taking the same direction. Had he been so insensitive to her? He was curious about the agents, and concerned for Agent Scully so for the second time that day, he actually said what was on his mind.

"You said that Agent Mulder and yourself have been together for nearly six years now. You two must be fairly close," Grissom began.

Scully placed her coffee on the table and replied;

"We're good friends, but as you know we have our differences."

"It sounds as if you and Agent Mulder are working through a difference on this case," Grissom ventured.

Scully scoffed at his comment.

"Mulder is…" she stopped for a moment, "he's a little eccentric about how he approaches cases, well that being our field I guess he has to be, but sometimes he doesn't listen to logic. This case is a good example. I don't think that he really read what this case is about, I think he just saw what the tabloids were saying. I didn't actually see the reports until we were taking off on the plane. I tried to talk some sense into him, but, well, he sees things his way. I guess it's always been that way. We just think differently about things sometimes."

"So you consider yourself to be logical? How did you end up working on paranormal cases with this man then?" a confused Grissom asked.

"I guess I am logical. It's just that I started out in science, and that's always been what has given me answers. The cases I've worked with Mulder have opened my eyes to things I never thought were possible. This case, the way you and your team have handled it so far, has seemed like it has a scientific, probable explanation behind it that Mulder and I didn't need to be a part of."

"Science is a touchstone, and the evidence never lies, that's a fact, but sometimes I wonder if there are other explanations for things."

"Have you ever had any other cases where you have thought there might be another explanation?" she asked.

Grissom thought back for a moment, then responded.

"Maybe not another explanation, but I did work a case a few years ago where we had a psychic who helped out. He saw things that no one else could have known. It was interesting. But mostly I wonder if there are other explanations for the ways in which people treat each other. There are times when I don't understand why a human can kill another human or hurt something as innocent as a child."

"That's true. Human nature can be hard to explain. Sometimes it's the hardest thing to understand someone who we are close to…" she trailed off.

Grissom watched her eyes fall from his and onto the table. He ventured that he could guess what she was thinking about.

"I bet you have felt that way about your partner," he said.

Her eyes snapped back up to his, as if he had caught her off guard.

Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that, he thought to himself, hoping he hadn't made the conversation to personal. Grissom thought that what he had said could also be applied to Sara. She probably thought she would never understand him. If she only knew what went through his mind when he saw her, and how stupid he felt for throwing away every chance she gave him. He wondered if it was too late now.

"I'm sorry for bringing that up," Grissom apologized quickly.

"No, it's alright. I already practically told you what I don't understand about Mulder, and we are close, but you've probably been in the same position with someone you've worked with as well."

It was Grissom's turn to be caught off guard.

"I can't say I haven't been. But to tell you the truth, your not the only one fighting with someone today."

Agent Scully gave him a quizzical look, raising her eyebrow at him.

"I don't know if you've met Sara Sidle, one of the members of my team. She was in my office today, and she was expressing her opinion on what she thought of you and your partner being here. It was actually just before you came into my office. I hope you didn't hear much of it, and if you did, I'm sorry."

"Well actually, I did hear some of that conversation. I didn't mean to…"

"Again, whatever you heard, if you were offended, I'm sorry on behalf of Sara and myself."

"Mr. Grissom, it's alright. I wasn't offended by anything I heard. In fact, we get the same reactions out of a lot of people."

"I can't say I wasn't doubtful of your involvement when I first met you, but one has to keep an open mind. It will take some time to convince Sara though."

"I'm sure if you're close, then you both will be able to work this out."

Grissom froze at her comment. How much had she heard? Had she figured out what was going on? _It was probably obvious,_ he thought. He had figured out her relationship with her partner by eavesdropping, why shouldn't an intelligent woman like her not do the same?

****

Well, I hope you are enjoying this. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. Special thanks to Rach who keeps coming back! Sorry I can't help you out with the game, I don't own it. And to Addicted1, sorry I didn't respond sooner, but of course you can use this technique to write your story. I don't mind.

Hopefully there will be more coming soon. I have a bit of a break between exams, so maybe then if my muse hits. I am still trying to work out a few details for the plot though. Anyways, thanks again! Byes, L.


	6. Chapter Six

Grissom took his glasses off, fiddling with them for a moment while he regained his composure, trying to come up with a suitable response to Agent Scully's statement. He was aware of her watching him, almost as if to challenge him to respond. Grissom raised his eyes to meet her gaze and calmly said;

"As you so aptly put it before, it can he hard to understand the people we are closet with, therefore it must also be hard for them to understand us. Yet I think it can be even more difficult when you are close to someone to admit certain things to them, for various reasons, making working things out difficult as well."

"Talking out the problem can help. Have you tried that?" she countered him.

"Things can be complicated even further if people are stubborn or unsure of where to take the situation," he answered.

Now I've gone and given the whole situation away. Great. If she didn't know before, then she has probably figured the whole situation out by now. Why am I telling her this? Grissom thought to himself. _You're letting her in because she's in the same situation. What about her and her partner?_

Grissom thought to himself. 

"So are you the stubborn one?" she blurted out.

He gave her an odd look.

"I'm sorry, that was incredibly rude of me," Agent Scully apologized.

He could see she was embarrassed by what she had said, but actually he didn't mind. He had been stubborn before, and so had Sara.

"No, I guess it's a valid question based on my statement," he started.

She gave him a look as if to say, go on.

"I think both Sara and I have been stubborn about things from time to time. I don't think it's one of us more than the other. What about you? Are you the stubborn one?" he challenged.

He saw her play with her napkin, as if to stall for time. _She really is an interesting woman, _he thought.

"Mulder would say I am the stubborn one, and I guess there are times when I have to agree with him to a certain extent. But then there are cases like this one, where all I want him to do is listen, and it proves that he is just as bad some of the time," she answered.

"So we both want to blame our partners for being stubborn like us. I guess we are in the same boat then," Grissom said.

"We're unsure of where to take the situation," replied Agent Scully.

Grissom stopped. How much had she heard from the office? Or was it that she had figured out what was going on between him and Sara. _Well you've basically told her enough, _he thought to himself. He had to know if she had overheard everything.

He cleared his throat before saying,

"How much exactly did you hear of the conversation in my office?" he asked quietly.

"Umm….everything. Look, I'm sorry, I really am. I shouldn't have."

"It's not your fault. The door should have been shut…" he trailed off, not knowing whether he wanted to talk about it or avoid the topic.

They sat in silence, now both unsure of where to take this situation. Finally Grissom spoke;

"Well then I have a confession to make as well. I overheard most of your conversation with your partner. So now we're both guilty of eavesdropping if that makes you feel any better."

He watched as she met his gaze and a slow smile spread across her face. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"So I guess we can both speak frankly now," she said slyly.

"About what?" he replied, knowing perfectly well what she was getting at.

"About how we both have feelings for our co-workers, but are to stubborn to admit it."

He saw her blush and he could feel some colour in his cheeks as well. He had suspected that she had heard the conversation with Sara, and that she had figured out their situation, but hadn't expected her to outright tell him, let alone admit that she was in love with her partner.

He was quiet for a few moments, again caught up in thinking of the best response to her statement. There were not a lot of people that could read him, but somehow, after only knowing her for only a few hours, this woman could. So he spoke again, and this time, the truth.

"Yes, I do have feelings for Sara, strong ones. But the truth of the matter is Agent Scully, that even though I want to, I can't bring myself to tell her. If I do, I risk so much. I risk her job and mine, with me being her supervisor and all. I know it seems selfish, but all the years of work I've done and everything she's worked for could all be thrown away if we were to ever be together. I know I am hurting her, pushing her away, but it's because I don't want to hurt her, and I don't want to be hurt."

Actually speaking his thoughts out loud didn't actually scare Grissom the way he thought they would. Lady Heather had said that he feared people knowing him, but he didn't fear this woman. He watched her taking in what he had said, and wondered how she would respond. It was almost as if they were playing a game of mental chess.

"I understand exactly what you are saying Mr. Grissom. As much as Mulder drives me insane, he's also my best friend, and the best relationships are rooted in friendship. The only thing is, there are so many things that could go wrong if we were to be together. Not only could we get into trouble at work, but we have enemies that would surely use it to their advantage. Yet is it worth it? Is it worth the pain of denying yourself love and hurting someone you care about over your career? I ask myself this question all the time. I wonder that if I ever act on my heart's desire instead of my rational mind, that it will be to late…" she trailed off.

Grissom nodded in response, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"I ask myself the same question, but look at me. I might be too late if I ever decide to take a risk…"

"Then why don't you risk it? If you've denied yourself love for this long, why don't you take the chance?" she cut him off.

He responded quickly,

"Why don't you while you're still young?"

Both starred at each other for a moment, considering the challenge presented by the other.

She is right. I have denied myself love for so long. Why am I still holding onto my fears? He thought to himself. _Because you have to be rational. But what if I wasn't for once? Have I ever thrown caution to the wind before? What if this is my last chance with Sara? _Grissom pondered his conflicting thoughts.

He thought to himself. Grissom pondered his conflicting thoughts.****

Like it? Love it? Hate it? My muse is back and I have more to come soon! Hope you like this chapter.

I do however have one simple request: No one has reviewed my other new CSI story called "Bullet-Proof." Its been up for awhile now, and I would love to get some feedback. Its total GSR angst and set post "Butterflied."

A BIG Thank-You goes out to everyone who reviewed "Adventures in Teamwork." You guys rock! I had fun writing it, and I am glad you all enjoyed it! Thanks again! Reviews make me happy! Byes for now, L

P.S And thanks to everyone who have kept up with this story! You guys are the best and so nice to keep coming back, even though I am horrible with keeping it up to date! Thanks again!


	7. Chapter Seven

"Maybe it was unfair to ask you that. I have no clue how your partner might feel about you," Grissom finally said.

"He cares about me…" Scully answered quietly.

Grissom watched her expression and guessed that Agent Mulder, despite acting insensitive, probably did care and maybe even love his partner, and that Scully felt the same way.

"Well then if you know he cares about you, then take the chance, don't end up almost missing your chance, and with regret, like me."

"But you haven't missed your chance yet Mr. Grissom. She maybe mad at you now, but she'll probably say yes if you ask her."

"It's complicated with Sara and I…"

"You're making it complicated. I heard what she said," Scully cut him off.

Why is it that this woman and Catherine are always right? I hate that! He thought.

"You know what? I think we both need to re-evaluate our work and professional relationships, really think about what's important in life. I am not saying that you should definitely start something with Sara, just think about it, and everything we talked about."

"Will you consider the same about Agent Mulder?"

Scully nodded, as Grissom's cell phone rang.

"Grissom…"

He talked for several minutes before hanging up.

"That was Catherine. She thinks they may have cracked the case. We should get back to the lab."

The ride back to the lab was as silent as the ride to the diner, as both Scully and Grissom thought about everything that had been said.

She's right, and Catherine was right, well Cath is normally right about stuff like this. Maybe I do need to pull my head away from the microscope now and then. I really should talk to Sara, maybe get her another plant, Grissom thought to himself, as he drove on auto pilot back to the lab.

As Grissom parked the truck in the parking lot, he stopped the engine, but didn't get out of the car. Instead he sat there for a moment. Agent Scully raised her eyebrow at him, as she gave him a quizzical expression. He looked at her and smiled.

"I just want to thank you for the break. You really made me think about some things that I need to change in my life," he said quietly to her.

"Well you did the same for me, so I should be thanking you as well Mr. Grissom."

"Maybe we could stay in touch. It would be nice to have a friend in the FBI with insight like yours."  
She smiled at him and her blue eyes shone.

"I'd like that," she replied simply, before getting out of the truck.  
Grissom watched her exit, then followed her. _Perhaps, _he thought, _if she didn't have her partner, and I didn't have Sara, things could have been different for her and I. Maybe this break could have led to something more than friendship. Could I have taken a chance on her?_

They entered the building and found their way to the AV room where they were greeted by Catherine, Warrick and Archie.

"So what did you find?" Grissom asked eagerly.

"Well you know how some witness accounts stated that a bright light was seen above the area before each abduction? Well we looked back at all the air traffic for each night, and found that a helicopter tour was flying over each time. That would account for the blinding light right?" Catherine explained.

Grissom and Scully nodded.

"We also found that on the second night, the tour company was shooting some new promotional footage, and guess what we got our hands on?" she smiled.

"Play it Archie," Warrick said.

The screen in front of them proceeded to show a video of a woman walking in the park. As she walked along, she tripped and a man appeared to help her. Instead of helping her, he put a cloth over her face, and the woman seemed to go limp. The video cut out.

"Is that it?" asked Scully.

"That's all from the park. But Archie and I were able to pull a few stills from the footage, and we have a clear shot of our second victim and our killer. Cath and I think that whatever he used to drug her was either chloroform or that date rape drug found in the bodies."

"Excellent work. Get those stills of the guy to Brass and hopefully we can find this person before he hurts anyone else," Grissom replied.

"That still doesn't explain the markings on the bodies," Catherine questioned, glancing at Scully.

"I guess we'll have to ask our killer when he gets here," Scully answered simply.

"By the way Agent Scully, your partner was looking for you. I think he's in the break room," Warrick said.

"Thanks."

Agent Scully left the room in search of her partner.

"Get the photos to Brass, then page me if you find anything else. I need to go take care of something," Grissom said, before leaving the room.

Warrick and Catherine nodded and Grissom headed down the hall. As he headed towards his office he nearly collided with Sara.

He wasn't sure if he was ready to deal with her right at that moment. He had wanted to go to his office and maybe order her another plant to break the ice, but it looked as if that plan was about to fail.

"Sorry Grissom," she muttered, as she began to walk away.

This isn't going to be easy, he thought.

"Sara, can I talk to you for a second?" he called to her.

She stopped and glanced back at him as he motioned towards his office. Sighing, she reluctantly followed him.

Grissom sat down behind his desk and Sara stood in front of it, arms crossed.

"Sit down," he offered.

"I would prefer to stand."

"You're still angry about earlier then?" he guessed.

"You think?" she answered sarcastically.

Grissom sighed and took off his glasses. He knew he really couldn't discuss what they needed to in his office, during a case.

"Listen Sara. I didn't mean to offend you earlier or question your judgement. I was actually wondering if you would join me for dinner tomorrow, maybe we could talk over some things."

Sara was floored. She almost wished she had sat down at his request and for once, she was speechless.

He gazed at her, his blue eyes never leaving her brown ones. He wondered if Scully was right, if he did have a chance still with Sara. As she continued to stand there in silence, he began to doubt his chances, when finally she spoke;

"Alright…what time?" she asked hesitantly.

"I'll pick you up around 6?" he smiled.

****

I told you my muse was back! Well if you are all still interested in how the case ends, then chapter 8 will probably be the last one for both stories.

To address some of the comments left to the stories: Maybe I should have broken up where the characters were in the first chapter, especially in the XF one, but the main part of this story was meant to be the interaction between Grissom and Scully at the diner. I hope this chapter adds something to that and I didn't jump around as some of the reviewers put it.

As for Scully being out of character in the first chapter, she was mad because Mulder didn't tell her anything about the case until they were on the plane, and I was hoping to pull some anger from "Three of a Kind" when she didn't have the best Vegas experience.

Thanks for the constructive feedback, and I do take it into consideration. (It's better than flames.)

Thanks to Rach who is such a sweetheart for coming back and always reviewing and finally adding 1 review to Bullet-Proof!

Final chapter is coming! And then, I don't know maybe a new story. I am open for suggestions! Byes, L


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